Bhubaneswar: After much wait, flight services to and from the newly-licensed Jharsuguda airport will begin June 14 on the auspicious occasion of Pahili Raja. Air Odisha will launch the flight under the Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) scheme.
Officials said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted licence to Jharsuguda airport, one of the five airports in the state chosen for regional flight connectivity under the UDAN scheme. To start with, the flights will link Jharsuguda with Raipur and Ranchi.
The first flight to Jharsuguda will take off from the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar at 5.50am, June 14, and reach Jharsuguda 6.40am. “All preparations are made to launch the flight services. We will be using 18-seater twin-engine aircraft,” said head of operations of Air Odisha, Santosh Kumar Pani.
The tickets from Bhubaneswar to Jharsuguda have been priced at Rs 1,750. Similarly, tickets from Jharsuguda to Raipur and Ranchi will cost Rs 1,670 each. Soon, the scheme will cover more airports including Utkela in Kalahandi, Jeypore in Koraput and Rourkela in Sundargarh.
